Spark-arrester.



UNITED STATES Patented oeteber e, 190e.

FRANK J. WILKE, OF EAST ST. LOUIS, ILLINOIS.

SPARK-ARRESTER.

SPECIFICATION formingpart of Letters Patent No. 740,503, dated October 6, 1903. l Application filed August 29, 1902. Serial No. 121,530. (Ndmndel I To all whom it may oon/cern: y

Be it known that I, FRANKJ. WILKE, a citizen of the United States, residing at East St. Louis, in the county of St. Clair and State of Illinois, have invented a new and useful Spark-Arrester, of which the following is a speeiication.`

This invention relates Vto spark-arresters for locomotives; and it has for its object to' provide a device of this class which shall possess superior advantages in point ofsimplicity, durability, and general eciency and by the use of whichthe escape of cinders andsparks shall be edectually prevented.

With these ends in view the invention consists in the improved construction, arrangement, and combination of parts, which will be hereinafter fully described, and particularly pointed out in the claims. l

In the accompanying drawings, Figure is a sectional side elevation showing the front cud of a locomotive-boiler to which myinvention has been applied. Fig. '2 isa sectional front elevation of the same. Fig. 3 is a sectional detail view illustratinga modification.

Corresponding parts in the several figures are indicated by similar numerals of reference.

My invention is applicable to different kinds and constructions ofboiler-furnaces; Abut it is especially useful in counectionwith the fur` naces of locomotive-boilers. .Hence its application in such a connection has been illustrated in the drawings.

l designates the smoke arch, and 2 the smoke-stack. Below the front en'd of the casing is disposed a receiving-hopper 3, communicating with the interior of the smoke-charn-V ber through an opening 4. Above said opening is disposed a hood or casing 5, which may be rectangular in cross-section and which is provided at what I shall term its front end with an elongated S-shaped deieeting-plate 6, the lower end of which is extendedislightly through the opening 4 and connectedwiththe edge of a wire screen 7, which is disposed transversely in the receiving-hopper, so as to form a foraminous closure for the part of the opening 4 lyingin rear of the deieotor relatively to the front end of the hood 5. The rear end of the latter is closed by a liange 8,

attached tothe lower end of the pipe 9, which extends into the smoke-stack, the said pipe being preferably curved so as to conform to the curvature of that part of the boiler-casing whichV constitutes the smoke-arch.

lO designates apipe the lower end of which extends through the boiler-casing and is suit ably connected with the exhaust of the engine. Said pipe l0 is tapered from its receiv-Y ing to its discharge end, and it is curved so as to discharge into the front end of the hood 5, the discharge end of said exhaust-pipe terminating a short distance in front of said box.

The receiving-hopper is provided with a suitably-constructed tilting bottom 1l, capable of being operated by means of suitablydisposed levers 12 from the engineers cab or g from any desired point.

In operation the heavier products of corn- 4bustion on entering the smoke-chamber will `be drawn by the suction caused by the exhaust steam passing through the pipe l0 through that part of the opening 4 which is disposed 'in front of the deiiector 6. The

llighter particles will rise and enter the stack rear of the delieoting-plate 6 and pass through the pipe 9Y into the smokestack. It will be observed that the exhaust-steam, although passing through a somewhat-tortuous course,

loses little of its power to create a suction or y draft iu the smoke-stack, While it is vastly useful in separating the heavy and obnoxious from the comparatively innocuous particles of the products of combustion, the former being not only deflected into the receiving-hopper, but absolutely prevented from leaving thelatter by the combined action of the screen 7 and the exhaust-steam` constantly entering through the forward portion of the opening 4. Another advantage which should not be lost sight o f is that a portion of the exhaust- Steam will become condensed, and thus act to extinguish `the sparks subjected thereto.

When the hopper is full or at anydesired time, it may be emptied by simply manipulating the levers operating the tilting hopper.

I desire it to be understood that while I have described and illustrated what I consider to be the preferred form of my invention I reserve the privilege and right to any changes, modifications, or alterations which may be resorted to without detracting from the utility of my invention or departing from the spirit and scope of my invention.

One modification which I consider to be within the scope of my invention has been illustrated in Fig. 3 of the drawings. In this case the discharge end of the pipe 9, instead of being extended upward into the stack, is connected directly with said stack, leaving no annular' opening surrounding the same for the direct escape into the stack of the lighter products of combustion. When this construction is resorted to, it is obvious that all the products of combustion which escapeinto the smoke-arch must come under the influence ofthe exhaust-steam discharged through the pipe 10, thus causing all the heavy and gross particles to be deflected and preci pitated into the hopper 3, while only such light particles as are capable of passing through the screen 6 will eventually bedischarged from the pipe 9 into the smoke-stack.

Having thus described my invention, I claim and desire to secure by Letters Patent of the United Statesl. In a device of the class described, the smoke-cham ber having an opening in the bottom thereof, a receiving-hopper disposed below said opening, an openended hood disposed above said opening, and a detiector within said hood extendinginto the said opening intermediately between the ends of the latter.

2. In a device of the class described, the smoke-chamber having an opening in the bothood and extending into said opening intermediately between the ends thereof, a screen disposed transversely in the hopper and connected with the lower end of the deector, means for directing exhaust-steam against the deector, and discharge means connecting the rear end of the hood with the smokestack.

4. A device of the class described comprising means for discharging exhaust-steam into the smoke-chamber, means for deiiecting, precipitating'and intercepting the heavier particles of the products of combustion within the primary suctional influence of the eX- haust-steam, and tortuous means for conducting the exhaust-steam from the intercepting means to the stack, the discharge-pipe leading into the stack being of smaller diameter than the latter so as to permit the escape through the annular' opening thus formed of the lighter products of combustion beyond the range of the primary suctional influence of the exhaust-steam.

In testimony that I claim the foregoing as my own I have hereto affixed my signature in the presence of two witnesses.

FRANK J. VILKE.

Witnesses:

W. I-I. WALTERS, W. A. Ross. 

